Hinterland village 

After a second day of eating and shopping in Delhi – and spending some magical time with Debs, Somak and the gorgeous little monster, and boy did we eat! We had the most delicious lunch which really kept us full all afternoon and evening…and for me, that’s hard.

I had to leave at 3.30am to get my flight to Kochi – so had a couple of hours kip, took a taxi to Terminal 1D (after much discussion – it was a little confusing as there are two terminals and I think they thought I was going ‘back to America’). I mooched around the bustling airport (all the shops were open despite it being silly o’clock) and then boarded the correct flight to Kochi. Slept a little and was picked up by a lovely taxi driver, who suggested we stopped for breakfast on the way to Hinterland village, my home for the next 10 days. He even lent me some rupees to buy breakfast! It was a masala dhosa and then he could obviously see I was a bit of a foodie (as I whipped out my phone to take a photo) and so he orders me a vada (no photo as it was so delicious I just ate it immediately) – a sort of savoury doughnut…

An hour later we drew up at the yoga resort to a lovely warm welcome and a cup of tea. Within half an hour I was lying in shavanasa in the yoga studio which is outside and overlooks a lake and was being lead into a deep relaxation. It was just the right thing – I felt so relaxed after it but also widely awake. Lunch of vegetable curry and a beetroot dish and then a short rest followed by a head, back and shoulder ayervurdic massage. I mean, this is heaven, right?

A few of the other guests and I went on a walk around the local area – my hair was like an oil slick but what with the humidity and face-sweating, I don’t think it was a good look but I felt fab. We were invited in to an amazing house which was full of art and artists – they had a cast of Jesus with eyes that followed you, an amazing painting of the Pentecost and numerous other artworks – the whole family were artists – from grandpa to granddaughter and all points in-between.

A lovely warm shower and a good hair wash, supper and bed. The rain is pouring down but it’s quite comforting to hear it on the roof. The resort has a friendly emu, two very friendly cats and some turkeys… can’t wait until the 6am wake-up herb tea call, followed by two hours of yoga. Time, please stand still!